1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for fabricating the armature of a flat motor used in a limited space for office equipment such as duplicator or electric equipment of automobiles, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An armature of this type is so constructed that flat unit coils are arranged while being overlapped and slightly displaced along the circumferential direction in an appropriate sequence around a commutator, and the lead wires at the ends of each unit coil are electrically connected by being coupled in a predetermined sequence to each winding coupler of the commutator. The unit coils arranged as above, on the other hand, are connected to each other at the contact parts thereof so that a disc member is formed by the unit coils around the commutator.
A conventional method of forming such an armature is disclosed in JP-A No. 58-130753. This method comprises the steps of winding a wire material on each unit coil-forming rest arranged on an intermittently-rotating turntable; causing the winding material to dwell stably; processing the starting and trailing ends of the wire material by holding, cutting, inserting and bending; transferring the unit coils formed and held on the unit coil-forming rest to predetermined unit coil-positioning parts opposedly arranged around the commutator holder; and connecting the starting and trailing ends of the unit coils thus transferred, with predetermined coil receivers of the commutator.
In a method disclosed in JP-A No. 60-5759, on the other hand, each time a unit coil is formed by winding a wire material on a frame, the unit coil is transferred to a predetermined unit coil positioning part arranged around the commutator, and at the same time, the part midway of the wire material extending from the unit coil thus transferred is connected to a coil receiver of the commutator before the next unit coil is formed. This process of work is repeated.
In the above-mentioned method with a turntable, the necessary processes of work are performed simultaneously by a multiplicity of stations corresponding to the stop positions of the unit coil-forming rests on the turntable. In view of he fact that many troublesome work processes such as holding, cutting, inserting and bending the starting and trailing ends of the wire material are involved, however, a trouble is liable to occur, thereby making the method unsuitable for high-speed operation.
In the method where each time a unit coil is formed, it is mounted, the lead wires of each unit coil are coupled or electrically connected to the commutator at a coupler set between the unit coil-forming parts of the wire materials without cutting the wire material or any process associated therewith. In spite of the comparatively long time required for the work of winding the wire material forming the unit coils, such work is performed for the unit coils, one by one, in the intervals of coupling or electrical connection to the commutator, resulting in a low productivity.